I'd Blog More, But Doctor Who Is On…

cosplay

I stopped collecting comic books eons ago but I’ll never stop loving superheroes. I love the very thought of them entering my reality. And that’s pretty doable because my reality is fantasy.

That’s why I appreciate costume play, “cosplay” for short. No, it’s not some fetish practice, just play acting that ultra geeks indulge in.

Not only do I admire anyone who nerds out hard enough to dress in a costume, but when the work is done well, you need just that much less suspension of disbelief. It’s magic.

Dhalsim from “Street FIghter”

Problem is, attention seekers see that target market as prey and swoop in for sexy kills. Lots of female cosplayers aren’t lovers of the genre at all, but mere hotbodies who squeeze their physiques into hero garb and post photos to the adoration of the gullible.

Though there are two sides to every story, I’ve never met one woman who didn’t love an onslaught of compliments. But said predators will not only sell prints of themselves to these doofuses, but accept showers of gifts from them. It’s an old scam – cutie is nice to a sucker and the sucker is putty in her hands. And as much as I sound like I’m blaming the ladies on this, I’m not. I blame the losers falling for their bullshit.

Many of these girls fall into common debate topics of “is she or isn’t she a true geek?” None of that matters to me, but there’s unfairness in a paid cutie doing it for the money and drool, versus a true geek girl working her ass off at the sewing machine day and night out of artistic passion.

Mad dope skillz, yo.

And it goes even deeper. Deeper because real women don’t look like comic book women. These chicks stay in the gym and will find big bucks to buy big boobs to fit that cantilevered image. Big timers like Liz Katz and Jessica Nigri found “fame” in bought mammaries and pressing them together for the cosplay camera. Again…no hating the players.

With the go-go bar “give me gifts and attention and I’ll tease you to death” trade of foolishness, are nuggets of gold worth digging for. There’s some truly great work shining through, and the dedicated get the occasional spotlights on sites like Geeks Are Sexy. And yes, as exploitative as it is, another upside is getting to see a shitload of skin…

Epic Yuna cos from Final Fantasy.

Here are my top five favorite cosplays of all time:

5. Master le turned cosplay on its ear a couple years back with his insane War Machine gear, with fully functional features such as the flip-up helmet. It’s a thing of beauty.

4. laura lunardi went somewhere few boldly go with this Domino showstopper. As a big Domino fan, I’d love to see more of her depictions but this one is almost impossible to beat.

3. “Battle-scarred Power Girl” by Eve Beauregard is an inventive idea from a very creative woman. She’s got skills on top of skills and never fails to deliver a great design. Power Girl is overdone by the busty players and I love how Eve put her own spin on it.

2. VampyBitMe has put together some kickass “gender-swap” displays like this Punisher and her equally notable Nightwing. She’s no stranger to stripping down (mostly) for the camera, but that never foreshadows her true talents. Give her a Google.

1. This Ani-Mia doing her Serah cosplay and it’s my absolute favorite in the game. Some of the ideas she comes up with are original and new takes on tried and true works. From Quail Woman to Applejack to shit I’ve never even heard of, she has a million ideas in her pretty little head.

This is her amazing Zatanna shoot. Holy cow…

Now, I can’t go anywhere without sending a shout out to a cosplayer so GREAT that he’s terrible. No, seriously, it takes an immense amount of ingenuity to be this horrible.

Cyclops??

Click HERE to see more and more and more examples of this guy’s absolute brilliance.